The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that merely because the victim belongs to Scheduled Tribes (ST) community, it cannot be assumed that the accused dominated her will to sexually exploit her.
Dominating the will of a woman belonging to the ST community and using that to exploit her sexually is an act that is punishable under Section 3(1)(xii) (as it stood before the 2016 amendment) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act [‘the SC & ST Act’].
The Division Bench, consisting of Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal and Justice Sachin Singh Rajput, observed while setting aside a conviction order under the aforementioned provision, that the assumption that the accused was able to sexually exploit the victim by dominating her will solely be based on her membership in the Scheduled Tribe community was baseless.
The bench further noted that the charges against the appellant were ambiguous, and there was no evidence to support the prosecution’s claim that the accused held a commanding or controlling position.
Case of the prosecution
The accused-appellant committed sexual intercourse with a minor victim without her consent on 22nd April 2013, despite being aware that she belonged to the ST community. On 28th April 2013, the victim’s mother filed an FIR, reporting the incident as narrated by her daughter.
The victim underwent a medical examination, and the MLC report confirmed sexual assault. Following an investigation, the accused was charged and convicted by the Trial Court for offenses under Section 376(2)(i) of IPC (unamended), Section 6 read with Section 5(i/k/m) of the Act of 2012, and Section 3(1)(xii) of the SC & ST Act.
Dissatisfied with the conviction, the accused appealed to the High Court.
Analysis of the court
The Court found that the Trial Court had rightly convicted the appellant for offenses under Sections 376(2)(i) of IPC (unamended) and Section 6 read with Section 5(i/k/m) of the POCSO Act after considering all the evidence on record. However, it also considered the Supreme Court’s decision in Vipul Rasikbhai Koli Jhankher v. State of Gujarat, 2022, which held that the severity of the sentence is not the only way to ensure justice for the victims.
The Court modified the sentence to 10 years, taking into account the appellant’s age at the time of the offense and the minimum sentence for the offense under Section 376(2)(i) of IPC (before the amendment).
However, the Court expressed reservations about the appellant’s complicity under Section 3(1)(xii) of the SC & ST Act, which deals with exploiting a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe by dominating her will.
The Court explained that the provision requires proof that the accused held a commanding and controlling position over a woman belonging to an SC or ST community, and used that position to sexually exploit her against her will.
The victim’s caste or tribe is just one factor, with the accused’s position and use of it being equally important.
The Court noted that the trial court had only found the accused guilty of rape under IPC Section 376, and then assumed the offense under SC & ST Act Section 3(1)(xii) based solely on the victim’s ST community membership.
The Bench rejected the conclusion of the lower court that the appellant was able to dominate the will of the victim to exploit her sexually solely because she belonged to the ST community. It emphasized that there must be separate evidence to prove that the appellant was in a position to dominate the will of the victim, apart from her belonging to the ST community.
Since there was no such evidence, the Court set aside the conviction of the appellant under Section 3(1)(xii) of the Act.
Source: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/chhattisgarh-high-court-position-of-domination-sc-st-act-victim-sexual-exploitation-order-of-conviction-set-aside-222864